Class 10th results: 1st ranker fights financial crisis

Dindigul/Virudhunagar: The two students from southern districts who shared the first rank in class 10 exam by scoring 499 out of 500, attribute their success to their parents and schoolteachers.

R. Premasudha, student of SRV Excel Matriculation HSS in Rasipuram, Namakkal district and Sivakumar, student of Noble Matriculation HSS in Virudhunagar, secured the top rank.

“I thank my parents and uncle for encouraging me to focus only on my studies despite our family facing financial problems,” Premasudha told Deccan Chronicle. Her father Rajendran, a marginal farmer from Reddiarchatram village in Dindigul district, was struggling to assist her daughter to pursue higher studies and his brother Srinivasan, a medical practitioner, provided a helping hand to Premasudha.

“My uncle and his wife also supported me morally whenever I worried about my family situation. They want me to become a doctor,” said Premasudha, who was in a jubilant mood at home after the results came in.

Her family members celebrated her success by cutting a cake along with their neighbours a few minutes after they heard the news. “With my brother’s support, I will definitely make my daughter a doctor to serve the poor people,”said
Rajendran.       

Rajendran, who cultivates coconut in two acres of land, sustained losses due to lack of water resources. His elder daughter also passed the class 10 scoring high marks.  Premasudha depend only on the teaching in the classroom for her studies. “My teachers are always helpful and never burden us with home work,” she said.

R Sivakumar who hails from a middle class family from Virudhunagar, thanks his parents for his success. “My parents never told me to secure a state rank, but encouraged me to excel in the exam,” he said.

His father K. Ragupathi, special assistant, State Bank of India, Virudhunagar said they stopped watching television and using mobile phones in the last one year at home to create an atmosphere in the house for his studies. “My mother Vijayalakshmi scarified her sleep to help me in exam preparation,” said Sivakumar.

“As my father always shares news on finance and business with me during my free time, I want to become a CA,” he said. He also thanked the school teachers for his success. Premasudha and Sivakumar scored centum in maths, science, social science and English and 99 marks in Tamil.